Fireworks at the Bridge

We are often asked whether there will be a firework display at or on the bridge for November 5th or New Year's Eve. The answer to this question is - 'unfortunately not'. The only times in recent memory that we have hosted fireworks on the bridge have been for Brunel's 200th anniversary in 2006 and the 150th anniversary of the bridge in 2014.

So why don't we do it?

The answer is because we would have to close the bridge to traffic for a whole day (fireworks take a long time to set up) as well as closing the Portway to traffic and working with the Harbourmaster to close the River Avon during the display to avoid any accidents. We would also have to ensure that any fireworks company putting on a display used eco-friendly fireworks that did not contain any harmful ingedients that could cause damage to plants and animals living in the Avon Gorge (it's a Site of Special Scientific Interest) and arrange a litter pick on the steep sides of the gorge after the event to clear any debris.

An estimated 70,000 people came to see our anniversary fireworks in 2014, which meant that we needed to place crowd control barriers along the Cumberland Basin and appoint security staff to make sure that nobody got too close to the edge! We also needed to set up a PA system and first aid points. Brunel Way was also closed and used as another spectator point.

As you can imagine, this is a huge undertaking and very expensive! The primary remit of the Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust is to preserve and maintain the bridge for the future. The toll money we collect each time you cross is used to pay for maintenance of the bridge and we were only able to put on our anniversary displays because they were externally funded.